Since I have a wimpy juicer, I used a grapefruit spoon to core the tomatoes and make a hole big enough to stuff with the basil and oregano leaves. This helps the juicer handle leafy greens much better!

This was my first time juicing a beet, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. The taste of the juice was fine, so that wasn't the problem; however, I got a killer headache soon after finishing my juice. I also didn't feel well for most of the day after.

My guess is that is was either too much sugar from the beet-carrot combo I had in there or the detox effect from including the all-mighty beet. Either way, I didn't like how I felt after this juice, and I'm thinking I might skip the beets for now.

Maybe I just need to juice a bit longer before amping things up with beets. Any thoughts?

Renpure Organics Shampoo or Conditioner - $4.99 (Their website says they do not test on animals, but I could not find anything specifically saying they are vegan - so please check the ingredient list on the product you intend to purchase to be sure.)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

(This post was written before I posted the pics, so that is why the next part makes absolutely no sense now that the pics are up.)

I was so proud of myself for remembering that I wanted to get a picture of today's juice before gulping it down (so that I could post it on the blog with today's vegan juicing recipe).

Well...I had my guy take the pic - since he is a much better photographer - and then I promptly forgot to have him send it to me so that I could post it. He is now sound asleep, so I will post that darn pic as soon as I can get it from him.

In the meantime, here's the very green juice I made today:
Today's Vegan Juicing Recipe

1 cucumber
4 celery stalks
1 green apple
1 handful of spinach

This one was super simple to throw together and tasted surprisingly good!

As I was looking up some other stuff about juicing last night, I came across an article about celery being a bit high in sodium and recommending that it be used in moderation. I've been using it nearly every day at four stalks a pop, so I'll have to do a little more reading on this and see if I might want to cut back some on the celery.

Four stalks per day doesn't sound like a lot to me, but I'm no juicing expert. So I will have to look into that.

Monday, August 8, 2011

This week is going to be a great week for organic produce at Fred Meyer. The only downside is that you might have to try to get there early in the day to grab these deals before they get swooped up by others. Today was the first day of the sale, and it was already down to just two remaining bunches of organic kale and two bunches of organic beets at my local Freddy's when I got there.

Of course, I don't need more than two bunches of kale at a time, and there was plenty of other organic produce to scoop up, so it worked out just fine -- but if anyone wanting organic kale showed up after me today...I'm sorry that I took the last two bunches!

Here is a pic of just one of the great organic deals this week:

And here is your list of some of the other organic and vegan deals you will find at Fred Meyer through August 13:

Organic Produce

Organic Herbs - 2/$3.00

Organic Wheatgrass - Buy one, get one free ($1.99 for two)

Organic Green Cabbage - $.69 per pound

Organic Red or Yukon Gold Potatoes (3 pounds) - $2.99 each

Organic Collard Greens - 2/$3.00

Organic Red Chard - 2/$3.00

Organic Red Cherries - $3.88 per pound

Organic Cantaloupe - $.79 per pound

Organic Peaches - $1.48 per pound

Organic Nectarines - $1.48 per pound

Organic Blueberries (18 oz) - $3.98

Organic Medjool Dates (16 oz) - $5.99

Organic Kale - 2/$3.00

Organic Italian Kale - 2/$3.00

Organic Bunch Beets - 2/$3.00

Organic Bunch Carrots - 2/$3.00

(See - I told you there were tons of awesome organic deals this week!)

I need another produce basket. Today's shopping trip to Fred Meyer filled both baskets I currently have, the veggie drawer in my fridge and most of one shelf in the fridge. One of the reasons I ended up with way more produce than originally planned is that my guy decided he would like to try juicing - but only with fruits. That is, of course, cool with me. I'm just happy he wants to try juicing at all.

So we ended up bringing home apples, pears, peaches, carrots, kale, spinach, cucumbers, garlic, onions, purple cabbage, beets, limes, kiwi, celery and more. Oh, and wheatgrass. I have no idea what to do with wheatgrass, but I now have wheatgrass sitting on my kitchen counter and will be looking up exactly how to incorporate it into my juicing recipes.

I bought organic beets with the intention of using them in tonight's juice. However, I have never done anything with a beet before, and after starting to do a little research online about juicing beets and beet greens, I decided to hold off until I have read more. As soon as it got into how I should use beet juice in moderation and not mix it with calcium-rich juices and such, I figured I better do a bit more research before popping a beet in my juicer.

This combo came about from me trying to use up the last of the produce I had on hand in preparation of heading to the store tomorrow to restock my produce drawer and basket.

I juiced the purple cabbage first and was surprised at how much juice I got from the somewhat small piece I juiced. I also tried the purple cabbage juice before I added anything else and was surprised again when I found the taste of pure purple cabbage juice to really not be that bad at all.

Once I added in everything else but the onion, the end result definitely had a distinctive green juice flavor going on, which wasn't exactly bad, but it wasn't quite as appealing as I had hoped. So I threw in the chunk of onion to spice things up a bit, which did the job nicely.

As for juicing the kale in my not-so-great juicer, I took the advice of Jackie, who was kind enough to leave a comment on a previous juicing post recommending that I run the kale through with the celery to give it something to wrap around. While I still think a better juicer would get more juice out of the kale, following this tip made a significant difference - thanks, Jackie!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

PCC Natural Markets always has sales on vegan products, so it's no surprise that there is quite a list of vegan goodness on sale at PCC through August 16.

Turtle Island Tempeh is just one of the vegan deals you will find, and I am super excited about this one. Have you tried their Smoky Maple Tempeh Bacon yet? We fell in love with it a couple of months ago, and there is now a permanent spot in the fridge reserved just for it. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend it!

I've had a juicer for a couple of years now, but I've only used it a few times. After watching the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead - and then watching Food Matters a few days later - I was inspired to dig my juicer out of the garage and give juicing another go.

So as I begin my renewed commitment to incorporating juicing into my daily routine, I figured I would share a little bit about how it goes and the juicing recipes I use along the way.

I will probably use a little less ginger next time. I liked the taste of this juice, but my partner thought the ginger flavor was a bit strong.

I sent the kale through twice to get as much green juice as I could out of it; however, I don't think my low-end juicer ($80 Hamilton Beach model) is going to handle kale very well -- at least not from the looks of things today.

I might have to incorporate kale into my diet in other ways and stick to juicing fruits and vegetables that my juicer feels like juicing.

In a previous blog post, I mentioned the JET Home Soda Maker Starter Kit, Sodamix and Sodamix Specialty Flavors available at Bartell Drugs.

Just after I published the post and tweeted it, Howie (the GM buyer for Bartell Drugs) contacted me to let me know that he had sent an email to SodaStream to make sure bone char was not used when processing their flavors.

First off, I'm happy to report that he has received an answer, and it is confirmed that these DIY soda-making goodies are vegan friendly. So if you enjoy drinking sodas - but aren't quite as keen on buying all of those expensive, single-use bottles of soda at the store - you might want to consider this handy DIY soda maker for your home.

Secondly, I want to point out that Howie is awesome. He saw my post and took it upon himself to contact the company and to message me to let me know he was making sure the product was vegan.

Now that is what I call some awesome, vegan-friendly customer service!

Bartell Drugs doesn't have many vegan items listed in their sale circular this week; however, they do have some good sales on wine accessories that would make great gifts for vegan wine lovers - or would just be handy to have around the house!

Vinturi Wine Aerator (for red wine) - $39.99
I bought this wine aerator for my uncle and his partner for Christmas last year. It works great and allows you to enjoy your wine faster, since you don't have to take the time to allow it to breathe a bit first.

Picnic Stake Set - $14.99
I have never seen something like this before, but it looks like a really cute gift for a wedding or commitment ceremony. The set includes a bottle holder and two glass holders. Throw it in a basket with some vegan wine and wine accessories, and it will make an easy-to-throw-together gift!

Wine Accessories - 25% off
Select accessories that are on sale include wine bottle stoppers, wine coolers and bottle openers.